The MTC is SICK... literally.

Hello family!!! I am so close to you guys yet so far away... I feel so out of the world, but that is how the Lord wants it and it is honestly to best way:)

Monday: Awh P-Day we got to do a session in the temple which is always just so grand:) The Sisters in there needed help folding socks. They had literally 5 baskets full! So after our session we went to help the sisters fold the socks. It was great talking with them. All the temple workers are so sweet:) We kind of laid around until we had to do laundry... (yay). No worries mom I did it:) My first time doing laundry was successful:) That night we taught our TRC Sydney. We asked to to be baptized and she said she needs to read more of the Book of Mormon first. Understandable. But she was so excited for us to come back and teach her the plan of Salvation!

Tuesday: CLASS CLASS CLASS. Another 6 hour class day... the only thing getting me through class was knowing that night was the General Authority Devotional:) Ah everyone was freaking out wondering who was going to come speak to us! We decided to do the choir cause obvi everyone said it was amazing! We ran to dinner, ate in 5 minutes and ran to choir and were the first people in line:) They have to kick some Elders and Sisters out so we wanted to make sure we had a spot. We sang Hope of Israel and it was so beautiful:) I felt like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. I told everyone in my district I have a youtube video with 30,000 views so I of course know how to sing... haha. Elder Satati of the 70 came and spoke with us:) I think that is how it is spelled? haha anyway it was so fantastic!:)

Wednesday: HAPPY ONE WEEK TO ME, and NEW MISSIONARIES:) When I came the first day there was a lovely orange dot on my name tag... therefore everyone knew I was new that day. I heard "welcome to the MTC" a gazillion times. So I was excited for Wednesday because I got to say that to the new missionaries:) So we had class time and all that but since I am a Sister Training Leader I got to have a meeting with the two new districts in our zone! They are so cute and so young;) haha we laugh because we are only a week older than them but I swear.. the MTC ages you. It really does. So me, Sister Currier and the Zone Leaders got to meet with all of them and show them around and all that good stuff:) They are so amazing and each bore their testimony. They are a strong group.

Celebrating ONE WEEK I made it!!:) Thanks Aunt Michelle for providing the colorful tissue paper.. and the Little Mermaid coloring book it has kept me very entertained.

Thursday: Was KILLER. 9 hours. 9 hours people. We had a field orientation. We learned a lot! It was mostly about working with ward members and such. It was great! But 9 hours... come on. And to top it all off pretty much all the MTC is sick... hahahaha. It is one giant germ box here. My companion got a sore throat.. therefore I got one later that night. So it was hard paying attention for nine hours when everyone is sick... but I still learned a lot of useful things and am so excited to get out into the field to use the things I have learned.

Friday: Oh boy Friday. Currier and I woke up sicker than dogs but no worries we still made it to class by 7. Did we pay attention in class? Haha no. We were trying so hard... but it was just not possible. We noticed in class 3 of our elders were gone... they were sick too. Great. Haha literally this plague took out half our district! 5 out of 10!! Our teacher literally told us to leave and go to the clinic haha thanks Brother:) We got to the district and they had a whole room set up for our district to check us out... only Currier and I had fevers so they sent us to the BYU clinic to be tested for strep. No worries... just a bad cold. Just like everyone here in the MTC. Ha literally everyone is sick. We spent the rest of the night sleeping.

Saturday: I was feeling better! Better enough I could do things! But my companion... negative. So Saturday stunk! We spent pretty much all day in our room sleeping. I colored. (thanks Aunt Michelle) and then we went outside and hung out with our sick Elders. We chatted about our lives. Good bonding time:) Our teacher would not let us into class anyway ha he didn't want anyone getting sick. That night I prayed so hard to get better and to feel better. I started crying. I was just begging my father in heaven that my companion and I could get better so we could learn more! I felt I was missing out on so much! I was comforted knowing that the things I missed, I will learn later on. And to not worry:) Man, missions are great!

Sunday: Yay! My comp finally decided to go out of her cave today. Haha I was full of energy! I honestly was going a bit stir crazy. We has some Sister Training Leader meetings, and had a departure devotional. How sad. It is so weird I am already leaving!! Like where has time gone? We went to sacrament meeting which was grand, also the temple walk. Sunday was excellent:) I had a bad cough but it didn't bother me.. I was finally learning again! Plus, everyone has a bad cough. We had a devotional that night by the General Sunday School President. It was on the Plan of Salvation and boy was it amazing:) My comp was feeling sick so sweet Sister Wise offered to be with her in the room so I could go to one of the videos after the devotional. I was so grateful. I went to character of Christ again because boy I need that slap in the face every week to whip me into shape:) Elder Bednar is so sassy in all his talks to the missionaries. He is like my new favorite:)

"Christ would turn outward in love, compassion, and service when the natural man like you and me would turn inward and be selfish. Through the atonement we can all turn outward and be more like Christ."

Things I have learned in the MTC:

-Flip Flops for the showers is a must. There are hair wads all over the floor.

-The soap smells like my Strawberry Shortcake VCR cases:)

-Packages and hand written letters.. especially letters ARE LIFE. They mean so much to us.

-On Sunday and Wednesday they serve creamery ice cream:) Yum:)

-If you stick your head out of the window you can hear the games:) nice win on Friday Cougars:)

-Bednar gives the best talks (go to character of Chirst as much as possible)

-DO CHOIR. IT IS AMAZING practice is every Sunday and Tuesday:)

-Sing always. You have no music in here. So sing and sisters will join along. Someone was singing mistletoe by jb when I was showering and I was jammin with the sisters haha.

-It is a germ box here so try to stay healthy!

hmm I will think of more later:) But I love it here and am sad I am leaving! But also, I am so ready to get out into the field. The church is true... and if you do not think it is... you are not being true to the church. Love you ALL!!! Thank you for all the support while I have been in here. Oh, and Aunt Lisa, the peanut butter fingers were a blessing:) SO YUMMY! THANK YOU!

love- Sister Slater

27 people have told me I look like the singer Lorde (she sings Royals). Funny thing is that it's mostly Elders. No really this Elder was like "I know you from somewhere are you from California?" I was like no... "Oh you went to BYU-I" haha no. Then his eyes got huge "I KNOW HOW I KNOW YOU!! YOU LOOKE LIKE LORDE!" Then this Elder next to him slaps his hands together and says "THAT'S WHAT I WAS THINKING!" haha it is never ending. We laugh so hard every time it happens so here is my Lorde picture. You decide if I look lil her haha.

Sister Russ and I. We love each other:) She is secretly Elphaba and I am Glinda duh:)

Thanks mommy for the new skirt! It is always nice getting new clothes:) This is my explorer outfit:) and thanks daddy for the lesson you sent:) I have actually used it with investigators!